The million-dollar question among hockey fans is whether veteran star forward Steven Stamkos will end up scoring his 600th career goal in a Nashville Predators uniform?
Stamkos, currently in his second season of a four-year $32 million-dollar no-movement contract with the Predators, headed into the Christmas break with 597 career goals.
For quite a few months, rumours have been circulating that the soon-to-be 36-year-old forward could be traded before the deadline to teams rumored to have been interested such as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers to name a few.
Stamkos, on the cusp of 600th career goal, still being mentioned in trade rumours
Back when Stamkos signed with Nashville following a solid 16-year tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was supposed to provide the offence to make the Predators a solid contender.
Instead, last year Stamkos produced only 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) for a drastically underachieving Predators team that missed the playoffs.
This season, Stamkos heads into Christmas having scored 15 goals along with 22 points for once again an underachieving Predators team, who find themselves only five points out of a wildcard spot.
Looking to redeem himself after a subpar season, Stamkos didn’t have a good start to the season but caught fire once the calendar turned to December. In showing that he still had a lot left in the tank, Stamkos on December 23rd in a 3-2 Predators win at Grand Casino Arena,  became only the third player in Predators franchise history to score three straight game-winning goals.
Stamkos also scored the winning goal two nights earlier at Bridgestone Arena in a 2-1 win against the Rangers and again a night earlier at home in a 5-3 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Currently, Stamkos has produced 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in the past 11 games, which includes back on December 11th a four goal outburst during a 7-2 win against the St. Louis Blues.
It won’t be long before Stamkos joins the elite 600 goal club, but the only question is will this happen as a Predator?
Would adding Stamkos make the Islanders a contender?
One interesting storyline to follow heading out of the Christmas break is whether the New York Islanders make a pitch for Stamkos and if this could make them a dark horse to be a Stanley Cup contender?
The Islanders, who currently sit only three points behind the Metropolitan Division leading Carolina Hurricanes have in retrospect a talented team consisting of forwards Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee along with stud rookie defenceman Matthew Shaefer and goalie Ilya Sorokin who are having great seasons. Heading towards the Olympic break, they could be looking for some more offensive depth especially with veteran Kyle Palmieri on the shelf.
An advantage which could make the difference for an exciting long playoff run is that Stamkos has a long working relationship with Islanders GM Mathieu Darche stemming back to when Darche was working in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s front office and Stamkos was captaining the team.
Stamkos would also prove to be a valuable veteran leader for a young and talented player such as Schaefer.
Could Montreal Canadiens be a contender with the addition of Stamkos?
During his time with the Lightning, Stamkos learned what it took to be a winner. In total, he won two Stanley Cups and at nearly 36 years of age is hungry for another.
The Montreal Canadiens are a young vastly inexperienced team who are coached by Stamkos former Lightning line mate and good friend Martin St. Louis.
Realistically, trading for Stamkos won’t being them this spring a Stanley Cup, but it would bring such young players as Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and defenceman Noah Dobson to name a few, valuable experience in learning what it takes to win which could pay off in the future.
If Nashville falls completely out of the playoff running, there is a good chance that Stamkos might be open to the trade to join an exciting young team with playoff aspirations like Montreal and experience the excitement of playing not only for his friend St. Louis but for an original six team like the Canadiens.
Main Image: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
